OPINION
Social Networking Affects How Our Generation Views Themselves
BY ALESSIA LYLES, Sophomore
BLYTHEWOOD -- Social media has been an effective way of communicating and a source of entertainment for a vast majority of the world’s population.
It is a place where people all over the world are able to share the exciting things that take place in their lives or maybe share a picture of themselves they feel is “internet worthy”.
Social media involves, scrolling through a timeline several times of day and seeing so many different pictures of so many different people around the world.
According to the social media agency, We Are Social, nearly 2.1 billion people have social media accounts.
The amount of social media users could result in having a psychological effect on people and the way they view themselves.
Researchers at a non-profit organization called Public Library of Science discovered the more time people spend on social media, the more depressed they become by comparing their lives to others.
Teenagers and even adults look at other people around them or on social media and become depressed or question their self worth as they compare their lives to other people.
Pictures are portrayed through social media accounts each and every day. It could be a picture of someone, a vacation spot, or something they may have recently purchased.
When someone who may already lack self-esteem looks at a certain picture they think to themselves “Why don’t I have this?” or “Why don’t I look like that?”.
People may be guilty of comparing themselves to another person every once in awhile.
“As a teenager I do spend a lot of time on social media and lately I have been noticing how many times I compare myself to someone I follow,” sophomore Imoni-Johnson Darby said.
Social media is not supposed to be about comparisons and it is not the main purpose of it.
Along with feeling depressed by using comparison, the amount of likes or followers someone may not receive can cause the depression to rise and self-esteem to drop.
Social media is typically used to share experiences or gain attention from others. Those who may not receive the attention they want causes them to think they may not be good enough.
We live in a society where the amount of likes someone receives determines their popularity.
In this generation, the majority of teenagers want to feel accepted by everyone or have some type of recognition that will make them feel worthy.
Social media tends to be the most well known place to go to receive that acceptance and recognition.
The graph below shows the increasing rate of depression and the increasing rate of media usage calculated in the year 2012.
According to the Pew Research Center, as of today, media usage still begins to increase as more people are starting to join. The number of online U.S. adults who use social media sites has risen from 8 percent to 72 percent in 2013.
The influence social media has on depression and self- worth is shocking and continues to grow just as much as social media.
To me, social media is supposed to be a place where someone can get away from the real world for a little while and admire all of the breathtaking pictures of beautiful places that are posted from all over the world.
Lately, it has been the completely opposite. A certain picture nor the amount of likes should never determine how much someone is worth.
As well, comparisons should definitely not be a cause of depression. Sometimes it is best to put down the phone and enjoy everything the world has to offer. Not everything has to be shared on social media.
It is nice to live in the moment sometimes and enjoy what is being seen through the eyes and not a camera.
